Chapter 4: What a Great System (Gritting Teeth)

No new mission popped up. Fearing his reputation in the neighborhood would be completely ruined, Lin Li dared not linger and hurried home, clutching his electric mosquito swatter.

After washing the blood and corpse fragments of the Blood Crows from his hands, Lin Li found a bush, removed his arm sleeves, extended his hands, and stood there for a while.

The title worked.

Although it was a title specifically against the Blood Crow clan, during the past five minutes, Lin Li hadn't seen a single mosquito around him, which was almost unimaginable in this environment.

It seemed titles could also operate 'normally' via bugs.

Going upstairs, washing up, and lying in bed, Lin Li carved a rice-character exorcism mark with his fingernail on every mosquito bite before starting to tally today's gains.

Temporarily unusable system currency totaling 100, a cool title, and most importantly, a 200% increase in his absorption speed of spiritual energy.

"Spiritual energy, come!"

Lin Li took a deep breath, blinked his eyes, and only exhaled when he could no longer hold it.

"..."

Although he hated to admit it, he hadn't felt anything whatsoever when receiving rewards for completing the two missions.

Shouldn't physical improvement make one feel good? Why did nothing happen to him?

"Is it because I currently don't know how to absorb spiritual energy at all? So no matter how many times zero is multiplied, it remains zero?" Lin Li reached this conclusion.

"Shouldn't a normal cultivation system grant a high-level Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment technique as the very first reward..."

"Then how am I supposed to absorb spiritual energy?"

Lin Li searched online for some metaphysical methods and tried sitting in meditation to regulate his breathing.

It had no effect.

"Wait," Lin Li lifted his head, "did I perhaps overlook one most crucial question?"

"Damn it, I didn't transmigrate! Is it possible that spiritual energy simply doesn't exist in the modern era?"

Then he fell silent.

Even if he had become super-sensitive to spiritual energy and later mastered the top-tier Star-Sucking Art for absorbing spiritual energy, if spiritual energy didn't exist in the modern world, the final result would still be zero.

After all, as the saying goes, even a young widow cannot cook a meal without rice.

"..."

The more Lin Li thought about it, the more convinced he became that there was no spiritual energy in the modern era; otherwise, those rare treasures from novels should have appeared long ago.

This, this, this...

If being a spiritual-energy-sensitive skin is meaningless and the currency is unusable, then summarizing today's gains, hadn't he merely obtained a mosquito-repelling aura, becoming a mobile Liu Shen?

He really wanted to greet the system's ancestors.

Lin Li lay on the bed in a wooden-character pose, somewhat heartbroken, sighing up at the sky.

"Buzz~~~"

At that moment, a mosquito flew over and landed on the tip of Lin Li's nose.

"?"

"Slap!"

"Hey buddy, isn't my aura still active? How dare a Blood Crow approach me?"

Lin Li carefully examined the mosquito corpse in his hand, then his pupils contracted sharply!

Damn! It's a flower mosquito!

Aedes albopictus; the easiest way to distinguish it from ordinary mosquitoes is the white stripes on its body; it carries more viruses, causes itchier bites, and requires a longer healing time!

Lin Li remembered; the effect of the Blood Crow Slayer title had specified that it could only intimidate the weak within the Blood Crow clan and was ineffective against the strong!

Shit!

If ordinary mosquitoes are Small Demon Heaven Blood Crows, then this flower mosquito must be at least a Great Demon Heaven Blood Crow! Yes, it was an absolute powerhouse within the Blood Crow clan.

The aura was ineffective against it!

Lin Li silently got up and plugged in the electric mosquito repellent liquid again.

Then he threw himself heavily onto the bed; the appearance of this flower mosquito had slapped today's gains, which were already like a candle flickering in the wind, right in the face.

He was even worse off than Liu Shen.

Originally, Lin Li had thought his future was inevitably smooth sailing, but now how did it feel... perhaps a billion times more bumpy than planned?

Lin Li picked up his phone; Bai Bufan had already sent over tomorrow's breakfast list and the money.

"Lin Li: Bro, I was just kidding about treating you to breakfast earlier; pretend I never said it. Rice noodle rolls with egg cost six yuan; not a single cent less will do."

"Bai Bufan:? Are you even human?"

"Lin Li: Such is life; plans always lag behind changes."

"Bai Bufan: Forget it, I've been making money in the stock market recently, so I won't fuss over your six or eight yuan. I'll give you an extra four; consider it a reward, Little Lin."

"Bai Bufan: 'Wishing you prosperity'."

"Lin Li:?"

"Lin Li: What the hell stocks are you trading? Are you even an adult to be trading, trading, trading?"

Bai Bufan was only ten.

Bai Bufan hadn't even used the class's Vox board to pretend by looking at stock price charts.

"Bai Bufan: You wouldn't understand, would you? Not only do I trade stocks, but I have never lost money trading stocks to this day."

"Lin Li: Really? How did you manage that?"

"Bai Bufan: Hehe, would I lie to you? Since you're my good brother, your master shall bestow upon you my secret technique!"

"First, you must join various investor discussion groups, seriously study stock trading knowledge, and obtain all kinds of insider information."

"When a group member's stock hits the upper limit, congratulate them profusely so they send a celebration red packet; when someone's stock hits the lower limit, comfort them profusely so they send a luck-turning red packet."

"Remember, the most important point: absolutely do not buy stocks."

"Hehe, the stock market seems to be doing well today; I actually managed to grab several tens of yuan in red packets late at night. So happy."

"..."

"Lin Li: Bai Bufan, I admit, you are truly a fucking genius at stock trading."

"Bai Bufan: Talent and hard work are both indispensable."

Putting the phone aside, Lin Li, whose mood had improved again, began continuing his search for life's path.

Saying it was hopeless would be an exaggeration; not to mention the yet-unlocked 【Shop】, which should contain many useful items.

Even Mission Two currently hanging on his task list offered a 'spirit stone' as part of its reward.

Spirit stones definitely contained spiritual energy, so he could certainly rely on spirit stones to embark on the path of cultivation.

Once he cultivated to the point where his body could generate spiritual energy on its own, he could achieve internal circulation.

However, Lin Li's facial features were currently somewhat twisted.

For no other reason than he discovered that the prerequisite for the mission to eradicate the Joy-Union Demon Cult's stronghold contained four large characters: Enter the Game with One's Own Body.

Regarding this damn system, Lin Li had already figured out a bit of its nature from the previous two missions.

If it told you to do it personally, you had to do it personally.

If it told you to enter the game with your own body, you had to enter the game with your own body.

But... this was an anti-pornography mission; how the hell was he supposed to enter the game with his own body?

Well, actually, entering the game with one's own body was quite simple, but was that really appropriate?

If he ended up becoming part of the sweep himself, how would he explain things clearly?

If he couldn't explain it clearly, even if his cultivation path became bright from then on, his life would definitely plunge into total darkness.

Having swatted mosquitoes all night, with exercise levels somewhat exceeding the standard, Lin Li began feeling sleepy as he thought, gradually closing his eyes.

Leaving behind his final words before sleep:

"System, I fuck your Feng and your Fu..."

(End of Chapter)